Let me start this off by saying I am pretty upset this book is ending in May. DC never gave it a chance – I blame Flashpoint but whatever. This was an awesome issue as the Freedom Fighters finally come face-to-face with the Jester! Amazing action, story, and art has made this book one of – if not the best – book DC has put out since it started. I sure hope Firebrand isn’t really dead but it was great to see the return of Uncle Sam! Kick his ass Sam!

The Freedom Fighters leave the creepy villain gang to die in this issue… on the orders of Miss America who is acting pretty agressive here apparently forcing Doll Man to come out of retirement by gun point. This was a great opening arc for this title and I expect the next arc will be even better. Oh and Phantom Lady and Black Condor hook up!

Holy shit! This was an awesome comic! The Freedom Fighters are trapped in Enclave A with the creepiest metahuman prisoners I have ever read in a comic (One is made out of dead babies or something) and you really get the feeling of being trapped while reading this – even as you start to sympathize with the prisoners who it looks like were all brought here and tortured against their will. All the while still dealing with the overall arc of a secret weapon belonging to the Confederacy. I will say it again, everyone should be reading this book! It’s that good!

Palmiotti and Gray flesh out the back story of the Jester – making him far more interesting then the character ever was in the Golden Age and also introduce a crop of new villains like the disgusting Funerella who’s kisses kill people by having their flesh rot or something like that. In other words, this is still definitely the best new book of the year THAT EVERYONE SHOULD BE READING. It has conspiracy theory, intrigue, tons of action, and characterization. It is everything you could want in a comic.

This book continues to be awesome as Uncle Sam is killed by the renegades but will ultimately be reborn as he always is – and the Freedom Fighters find a statue of Robert E. Lee underneath the cavern. The conspiracy theories get even crazier as the Jester (the grandson of the original hero) shows up as a member of the Arcadians in a bad ass costume. I am glad that Miss America is back. I have always loved that character I don’t know why – but I think it’s such an awesome costume although I thought she had been turned into Miss Cosmos in the last Freedom Fighters mini but I guess she is back. I hope she stays with the team.

Damn this is definitely my favorite new series of the year! Second issue in and I was excited with every turn of the page. The renegades are cool elemental villains (although the one called Fire Horse doesn’t really make any historical sense since horses came from the old world) and the Arcadians are an intriguing concept. I liked the spotlight on Black Condor and Uncle Sam – who fought bravely even without their team. This book is patriotic in a in a non-blind way and brings me back to the patriotism I had as a kid.

Palmiotti and Gray’s Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters mini from 2006 with Daniel Acuna is a book i read again and again. I loved Acuna’s artwork and the way that the writing team made me feel so patriotic – but in a liberal America could be so much better then it is kinda way. The second mini was okay although I wasn’t a huge fan of the artwork but I could not wait for this ongoing to start and it finally has arrived! They really started things off with a bang – there is no set up we are brought straight into the action as the team fights on multiple fronts and is brought into a civil-war era mystery. This couldn’t have been any better! In one issue I think this may be one of my favorite books DC is putting out if not THE favorite. Pick this up people!!!